Sunday, August 21, 2011

Kauai

Adam and I recently got back from a trip to Hawaii for his mom's wedding, and it was wonderful.  We went to Kauai and Oahu, and Kauai was by far our favorite.  It was so breathtakingly beautiful, we had a really hard time leaving.  I don't think pictures really do it justice, but here are some from Kauai.


Most of the beaches were as beautiful as this, and none of them were crowded.  It was perfect.




Just another drive on the highway, no big deal!




I believe this was the wildlife refuge or something.  I thought it looked like a plantation.


Most pictures of us are the long-arm shots.





We had a tiny little lizard in our room!  Adam shooed him out so he wouldn't sneak into our luggage!




We went to the beach at his mom's hotel for sunset one night.




On the day of the wedding we decided to take a short hike on an old lava beach.




The lava beach is off the left side of the photo.  The guide book told us we had to "wade across" the enclave, but we were up to our ribcages in ocean water.  Definitely should have worn the swimsuit on this hike.




Pretty sure you can see the water line on his shirt.  And he's 6'4".




Definitely worth it though.  The scenery was gorgeous.




There were all these rusted old ship parts scattered across the way.




I thought it was pretty cool.




Notice the wheel thingy behind me?  :)





I thought Adam was going to get ripped over the edge with the tide.  He thought he was fine.




Gotta love a good hike!




Remember the game where you're not supposed to step on the lava?  This is the opposite.




We stopped at a little fruit stand on the way back to the hotel and ate lunch.  These were all the empty coconuts.  Oh, did I mention that instead of squirrels, Kauai is overrun with chickens?  No joke.




The road to his mom's hotel had a green tunnel I fell in love with.




The wedding was in a garden with huge cacti everywhere and beautiful plant life.




Don't you just want a pond in your backyard for these things?




The priest was so cute.  He blew his conch shell to start the ceremony.




My bangs look like a tidal wave!




The invites and our place holders.




The next day, Adam and I went on another hike a local recommended.  They don't ever mention street names, so he just said to leave our hotel, go to the right, take the first right and drive till you don't see anymore houses and park.  It was a really cool hike though.




Gorgeous views out over Kapa'a (the town we stayed in).




That's Adam.  Past the Hazardous Cliff! sign.  To take a picture.  I hope it was worth your life.




These trees actually move closer to water throughout their life.  Isn't that cool?!




At the top of our hike.  A little sweaty, but super happy.  You can't really tell, but a wall of rain was moving in from the ocean.  It literally went from full visibility to you can't see the town anymore in five minutes.  Needless to say, we got soaked.




Adam slipped, but managed to land on only his knee and hand.  I, on the other hand, fell shortly after on my ass cheek in my favorite shorts.  I'm a dumbass for wearing my favorite shorts on a hike.





We went to a luau that night with his mom and this was one of the random things they had in the garden.




I was really hoping Kyle Hollingsworth was going to be there (this only makes sense to fans of String Cheese Incident).




They brought out boys in skirts to call to all corners with a conch shell before pulling out the piggie.




I clean up nice, huh?




They had free mai tais.  This is the leaning tower of Sarah's Sobriety.




Literally had to pile things on top of each other.




They taught people how to hula dance.  This is obviously meant for children.  There was one person over the age of 18 on the stage.  Guess where she's from?  North Platte.  Thanks for representing Nebraska!




These girls could seriously shake their asses!




Fun times.




The next day we went on a kayak/hike trip to a hundred foot waterfall.  It was so amazing.  Adam got all the pictures of the hike and stuff, because he has the waterproof camera, but these are a few from lunch by the falls.




The waterfall used to be one of the Secret Falls, but now that tours come out here, it's not so secret.  Still beautiful though.




A little offering close to the falls.




The end!  (This picture is actually from Oahu, photos from there to come next!)

Saturday, August 13, 2011

Katie's Wedding

Katie and Alexi got married a few weekends ago in Chicago, and huge group of us traveled there to support our girl in her start to married life.  It was by far the best wedding I have been to so far in my life.  The location, the people, the atmosphere, everything was stunning.  I met so many wonderfully amazing people that weekend, that I wish I could do it all over again!  The festivities included a boat ride on the Chicago river, which was a blast.  Anyways, let's get to it.


Alex spotted a "Country Singles" paper on the drive through Iowa.  Sadly, the thing was too old to open.




The ladies.




On the porch waiting for the cabbies.




Strike a pose!




Pre-drinking before going to the bar to pre-drink before the wedding.




Loved hanging out with these two crazies!




I have no idea what's happening here.




Or here.




I'm smooshed!




The posse walking to the wedding.  This is how we roll.




Random plant animals at the wedding venue.  The power went out before the wedding, hence the darkness.




Colin photographed the wedding, so we didn't see much of him.




Utility trucks to fix the power, the ladies rocking their way to the wedding.




This guy was the most vibrant preacher.  Never would have known he only talked to the couple for two hours!




So beautiful!!




The centerpieces were stunning, and the tables were full!!




This woman was fantastic.  Her name is Coco and she's a dentist.  And now she's my style icon.




Two of the three Sarahs staying in the house.




Haha Shelby wasn't ready for the picture I guess.




Our table of fun!




Nice face Dan.




My new bestie!  Such a beautiful soul!




I just love this shot.




Beautiful bride!




Gotta love the face.




Open bar all night means a happy wedding!




I love Katie in this one!




The music was awesome, so the dance floor was raging the whole night!




James's mom is wonderful.  She was taking shots with us all night!




The groom and father of the bride!  Very happy men.




We closed down the place with the parents of the bride.




Dan stole a centerpiece and called himself Secretariat for the rest of the night.




Dan also let everyone draw penises on his leg.  He was naming all of them off right here.




I thought this was a clever ad.  If you can't tell, it says sushi behind the poll.




We went to Centennial Park and saw the bean.  There were a bunch of quinceneras getting their photos taken.




This thing's nuts.  I had an existential crisis when I walked toward it and couldn't find myself.



The Sarah portrait!





Halley got attacked by little kids in the water and loved it!




These things were huge faces with water coming out of the mouth sometimes.




Cabbing it!




The night before the boat ride Chicago experienced record rainfall.  The river rose 7' overnight.  We could barely get under the bridges!




We had to duck to get under all of em!




Another bestie pic!




All the ladies.  Not such a great pic.




For some reason Colin's old roommate was in Chicago, so we hung out with him on the last night.  

The end!